1.1 Current Exam Facts
Key Takeaways
- The National Benchmark Tests are conducted for the National Benchmark Tests Project by the Centre for Educational Assessments at UCT, the centre formerly named CETAP.
- Universities South Africa, formerly HESA, originally commissioned the project as a shared academic-readiness measure for university study.
- The official 2023 Intake National Report describes AQL as 75 AL items plus 50 QL items, timed at two hours five minutes and one hour respectively, and MAT as 60 items; current session instructions still control.
- 2026 cycle fees on nbt.ac.za are R195 for AQL only, R390 for AQL and MAT, and R250 for a re-mark.
- NBT results use criterion-referenced bands of Proficient, Intermediate, and Basic; there is no single national pass mark.
Why current NBT facts are study content
The National Benchmark Tests (NBTs) measure academic readiness for South African university study. They are not a second school-leaving certificate. They do not replace the National Senior Certificate (NSC). A faculty may read NBT scores next to NSC results when it considers an application, when it places a first-year student, or both. If you treat the NBT like a school exam with one national pass mark, a practice-bank total mistaken for current operational length, or an endorsed crash course, you will book the wrong product or misread the result. This OpenExamPrep section is independent study material for the combined Academic and Quantitative Literacy (AQL) plus Mathematics (MAT) parent exam. It is not a publication of the National Benchmark Tests Project (NBTP), the Centre for Educational Assessments (CEA), Universities South Africa (USAf), or any university.
Current facts belong in a study guide because the skills chapters that follow assume the right sitting. Academic Literacy work is wasted if you needed MAT and never booked it. MAT drills are wasted if you try to write MAT alone. Fee and band language belongs here so you can quote 2026 figures and the three benchmark labels without inventing unpublished numbers.
Who conducts the tests, and who commissioned them
CEA at the University of Cape Town (UCT) conducts the NBTs for NBTP. CEA is the current name of the centre formerly called the Centre for Educational Testing for Access and Placement (CETAP). USAf, formerly Higher Education South Africa (HESA), originally commissioned the project so South African universities would share a common academic-readiness measure.
Writers mix those names. A school letter that still says CETAP is using the former centre name. A social post that says USAf will invigilate your hall confuses the original commissioner with the body that conducts the sitting. CEA conducts. NBTP is the project. USAf commissioned. Each faculty still decides which tests you write and when your scores must arrive.
Official operational channels are https://www.nbt.ac.za, nbt@uct.ac.za, and 021 650 3523. Use those for booking, disability arrangements, Braille versions, and payment queries.
| Body | Role | What a writer should use it for |
|---|---|---|
| USAf (formerly HESA) | Originally commissioned the project | Sector history, not a booking desk |
| NBTP | National project for the tests | Project identity on official pages |
| CEA at UCT (formerly CETAP) | Conducts the tests | The centre that runs the sitting |
| Individual faculties | Choose tests and deadlines | Your offer letter and faculty website |
| nbt.ac.za | Official rules and exemplars | Fees, dates, what to expect, exemplars |
Operational papers are confidential. NBTP does not endorse commercial preparation courses. Official exemplars on nbt.ac.za are the public samples of item style. Independent NBT practice by OpenExamPrep is a separate study resource for Academic Literacy, Quantitative Literacy, and MAT skills. It does not reprint confidential papers.
Two papers and three score domains
There are two NBT papers, not one mega-quiz and not a 100-question operational paper invented by a practice site.
AQL is a combined multiple-choice test. Academic Literacy (AL) and Quantitative Literacy (QL) are separate timed sections inside that sitting. Applicants to programmes that require NBTs write AQL. The official 2023 Intake National Report, published in March 2024, describes AQL as 75 AL items and 50 QL items, with a split of two hours five minutes for AL and one hour for QL. You should expect two AQL domain scores, not one blended AQL mark that erases the difference between reading-heavy items and quantitative items.
MAT is a separate multiple-choice mathematics paper. Write MAT only when mathematics is a programme requirement. Health Sciences faculties require both AQL and MAT. Other faculties may require AQL only. The same 2023 Intake National Report describes MAT as 60 items in three hours. The shorter live nbt.ac.za Test Content page omits an item count, so treat 60 as the latest explicit official composition located rather than a promise that no later cycle can change. Follow the instructions for your booked session, and do not import a 100-question practice-bank total as if CEA had printed it.
On a combined booking, AQL is the morning paper and MAT is the afternoon paper on the same day. MAT is not sold as a stand-alone afternoon product and cannot be moved to a different date. Section 1.2 works through who must book which combination.
2026 cycle fees you can quote
nbt.ac.za publishes the 2026 figures on the homepage, in FAQ 28, and in the 2026 brochure:
| Product | 2026 fee | What it buys |
|---|---|---|
| AQL only | R195 | Morning AQL sitting |
| AQL and MAT | R390 | Same-day AQL plus MAT |
| Re-mark | R250 | Review of a paper already written |
R390 is not a third paper. It is both papers on one date. A re-mark is not a second attempt; it is a review. This guide does not invent unpublished surcharge tables. Follow the official payment instructions; scores are not released without payment.
Criterion-referenced bands, not a national pass mark
NBT reporting is criterion-referenced. The named bands are Proficient, Intermediate, and Basic. There is no single national pass mark. A Basic QL band is not a nationwide fail-the-NBT stamp. A Proficient AL band is not a nationwide admission ticket. Each faculty states how it uses the bands. Some faculties need results in June or July.
You will receive domain scores for AL and QL, and for MAT if you wrote it. National reports sometimes describe Intermediate as lower and upper categories. Use that only as background. The public interpreting-your-results language centres the three named bands.
Realistic scenarios
Scenario A — BA, AQL only. The faculty requires NBTs but not mathematics. Book AQL only at R195. Do not add MAT because friends in physiotherapy are writing it.
Scenario B — MBChB. Health Sciences requires both papers. Book AQL and MAT at R390 and plan a full day.
Scenario C — a social post that says the NBT is 100 questions. The 2023 Intake National Report describes 75 AL items, 50 QL items, and 60 MAT items. The live Test Content page does not restate those counts, so check current session instructions rather than substituting a practice-bank total.
Scenario D — a family question about passing at 55 percent. Translate the question into Proficient, Intermediate, or Basic for each domain, then read the faculty rule and deadline.
Scenario E — a weekend course that claims NBT endorsement. NBTP does not endorse commercial prep courses. Keep official exemplars and official contact details as the rules source.
Traps
- Collapsing CEA, NBTP, and USAf into one UCT exam board
- Using CETAP as if it were still the public name
- Substituting a 100-item practice inventory for the official report's 60-item MAT description
- Hunting a 50 percent national cut-score
- Paying R195 when MAT is required, or R390 when only AQL is required
- Treating a R250 re-mark as a cheap retake
Which body currently conducts the National Benchmark Tests for the National Benchmark Tests Project?
For the 2026 cycle, what does nbt.ac.za list as the fee for writing both AQL and MAT?
Which statement about NBT scoring is correct on current official language?